Time to stop pretending
by Vickysg1
Summary: They tried to pretend that they were just friends with extras but it wasn't true.


**Disclaimer:** I own neither the show nor the characters. I don't earn any money; I just do it for fun.  
**Author's Note:** This was written for Week Two of the 10 Weeks of Nate/Sophie on nathan_sophie on LJ (Team Sophie). The prompt was 'The Lonely Hearts Job' (Prompt #3). Many thanks again to my wonderful beta, csiangel!

###

It was late when Nate and Sophie retired to his apartment. The rest of the team was still at the bar downstairs, but they now knew better than to come up here unannounced once Nate and Sophie left together. Hardison had once talked about being scarred for life; but how could they have known that the hacker would turn up at two in the morning at what was still technically Nate's apartment? Still, he had looked at them – and the stairs – weirdly for the next few days.

As Nate made his way to the kitchen, Sophie's eyes fell on the flowers resting on the counter; she had come up earlier and arranged them in a vase she had managed to find in one of the cupboards. White roses had always been her favourite. She remembered being sick with the flu when she was about five, and having to stay in bed. She woke up from a nap to find a lone white rose on her nightstand; her mother had brought it to cheer her up.

Nate wrapped his arms around her from behind, and rested his chin on her shoulder. He pressed a kiss just behind her ear, and she couldn't stop the shiver that came at the contact. She placed her hands on his, intertwining their fingers.

"You really love them," he said, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Yes. Even if they didn't come from you," she added, and she could feel his surprise.

"How...?"

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice your look of surprise – and Hardison's for that matter – or the way you looked at Eliot?"

"You're not mad at me?" he asked, confused.

Sighing, she turned around in arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pecked his lips before looking at him in the eyes.

"You proved to me when we were in the Hamptons that you can be romantic, Nate. I don't need flowers to confirm that. Still, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind some flowers now and then."

"Duly noted," he replied, before kissing her.

"I really mean it, Nate," Sophie said, as the kiss came to an end. "That date was quite perfect."

"I tried my best. After all, like you said, I needed to convince Meredith that I was capable of seducing you."

"And you did. You seduced me, darling."

"Did it surprise you that I could do it?"

"No, it's just... Well maybe a bit," she admitted. "That was supposed to be just a con, and you turned it into something else."

"A real date," he finished for her.

"Yes. And it was better than any dates I had in the past. And you know why?" she asked, and when he shook his head negatively, she continued. "Because in spite of the setting, neither of us was hiding who we really were."

Nate nodded before leaning down for another kiss. He buried one of his hands in her hair, while the thumb of the other found its way beneath her top and started running circles against her skin. She shivered in his arms, and he smiled against her lips. Two could play that game, Sophie decided, as her fingers gently ran through the hair at the base of his nape. Her lips left his to trail down his neck, pressing kisses, teeth gently nipping at the skin.

"What do you say we take this upstairs?" she asked with a suggestive look.

"Lead the way."

She took his hand and pulled him towards the stairs.

###

Sophie woke up the next morning, and rolled over only to find the other side of the bed empty. She cracked open one eye, and sure enough, Nate wasn't where he should be. The door was ajar, but she couldn't hear any voices coming from downstairs, which surprised her given the late hour; even when they don't have a job, at least Parker or Hardison usually arrived around 9, and it was almost 11 and they didn't seem to be here. Or they were keeping strangely quiet.

She sat up and was about to get out of the bed to investigate when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. The door was pushed open by Nate carrying a breakfast tray, complete with one of her white roses. She was surprised by the gesture; it was something they had never done before. But she soon realised that it had something to do with what happened the night before. She grabbed his t-shirt from where she tossed it when they fell into bed, and put it on.

Nate put the tray on her lap and sat down on the bed in front of her.

"Good morning," he said, leaning in for a kiss.

"Morning breath," she replied, self-consciously.

"I don't care," he assured her, going in for another kiss. "Now, dig in, or it'll get cold."

Looking at what was on the tray, Sophie immediately noticed Nate's infamous omelette and her mouth watered at the sight. He was a good cook, not as good as Eliot, but there were some things that he excelled at, and making breakfast was one of them.

They ate in a comfortable silence; she knew that they had something to talk about, but she would rather have that conversation when they were done eating. She wanted to be able to talk to him without worrying about balancing the tray on her lap. So when they were finished, she stopped him from getting up and placed the tray on the floor beside the bed.

"I think we need to talk," she said after having taken a deep breath.

"Should I be worried?"

She knew how it sounded, and she hadn't intended it that way. But it was true nonetheless: they needed to talk. Ever since they started this friends with benefits affair, they had barely talked about it. And the other night, it was clear that neither of them were really sure of where they were with each other. Maybe it was time to have _the_ talk, even though Sophie wasn't sure how it would turn out. But first things first, she needed to set things right.

"Why did you do all this?" she asked, gesturing to the tray.

"I just... I wanted to..."

"You wanted to be romantic?" she finished for him when it was obvious he couldn't find his words.

"Yeah."

"You know you don't need to do that, right? I told you yesterday that you proved to me that you can be romantic with this date."

"And that's enough for you?" he replied, raising an eyebrow; he didn't think he would ever really understand women in general and the one sharing his bed in particular.

"I don't need romance every day, Nate. No woman does, and the ones who say that they do are lying. But once in a while, I like being wined and dined, receiving flowers..."

"Dating stuff?" he asked.

"No, no, no, Nate. We're not dating, I told you that."

"What are we doing, then?"

They were both surprised that he was the one to ask the question. After all, he had been reluctant to start anything at first, and now, it seemed strange that he was the one wanting to have _the_ talk. And if Sophie wanted to talk about them too, she still wasn't sure it was a good idea. But she also knew that when he had his mind set on something, there was little she could do to deter him.

"I don't know, Nate," she told him truthfully. "I... We can't pretend it's just about sex anymore. It's never really been just about that, either."

"No," he admitted.

"You and I have been pretending because it was easier that way," she continued. "We did that because you weren't ready for more, and I wasn't either."

"You weren't?" he asked, quite surprised by this revelation; she had given him the impression to be sure of what she wanted from the beginning.

"Nate... No one knows me better than you do, not even Parker, Hardison and Eliot. Of course, I wasn't ready to take our relationship to the next level. I mean, what if it ended up ruining everything?"

"But still, you were the one to push for this," he said, gesturing at them.

"Because we were getting nowhere, and I was beginning to think that it would hurt us more sticking to the status quo between us."

"We needed to move on, you're right."

"Haven't you learned by now that I'm always right?"

Nate shook his head, letting out a little laugh. Smiling, Sophie leaned towards him and kissed him passionately. His hands went to her hips and pulled her towards him, until she was left with no choice but to straddle his lap. When the kiss ended, he nuzzled his head into her neck, placing small kisses there.

"So what are we?" he whispered in her ear.

"If you need me to answer that for you, Nate, I promise I'm going to leave this bed in the next minute."

Instead of replying, his lips claimed hers again as his fingers grabbed the hem of her - but technically his - shirt. They broke the kiss just long enough for Nate to take it off and throw it away.

She was right: he didn't need her to answer his question. He had known the answer for quite some time now, even when she denied it in the Hamptons. They could stop pretending now, they both knew where they stood.

"Does this mean I ought to take you out for a date?"

Fin.


End file.
